Artist ExPt Fate
by Knight of L-sama
Summary: COMPLETE Objectivity vs. Subjectivity. Precision vs. Emotion. The world vs. Fate. When an AU Fate is lacking the inspiration she needs to make a notable masterpiece, can BakeryGirl!Nanoha come to the rescue?
1. Fate

**Artist!Fate** ( Briefly known as The Painter before said previous name got mobbed and lynched and turned into what it is now. Ah well.)

Part 1- Fate

'Inspiration is all around you, you just have to open your eyes and look for it.'

Fate scoffed and threw her pencil and sketchbook on the bench beside her. "Right. I've been looking around all day and all the 'inspiration' I've gotten is two ducks going at it in the pond. And like hell am I going to enter the exhibition with something like that."

She tried looking around again, but nothng really caught her interest. Which was sad, because there were so many people walking past her, alone, with dogs, with children... and none had that glimmer of inspiration that it would take for her to get out of the slump she had been in. Her mentor had forbidden her from returning to the studio until she had at least gotten a rough approximation of something that she could build on. The exhibition was in another two months after all and her mentor was counting on her to pull through, like always.

"Could this be it?" Fate sighed dramatically as she leaned back with an arm draped over her forehead. "Creativity all dried up like a dried-tomato by age 20? Real smooth, Testerossa. Real smooth."

"Ahh!! Yuuno! Hold on! Get back here!"

Fate yelped and her eyes widened as she suddenly felt something large and furry jump down the loose collar of her shirt and start squirming around, as if it had jumped into a trap and was now frantically wondering how to get back out. Through a great feat of willpower, Fate thrust her own hand into her shirt, groped around, grabbed whatever thing was squeaking at being grabbed so roughly (or grabbed at all, considering the situation), and pulled it out. Apparently, her grip had been a bit tight, and so the animal was looking quite worn out by the time she could look at it. By this time, the owner had caught up and was apologizing profusely.

Fate looked up from the animal that she could now recognize as a ferret once she stroked its fur to lie flat again. Her awe upon seeing the face of the owner nearly made her drop the ferret into her lap. It was a young woman, about her age, she guessed, who wore her rather long brown hair in a side ponytail. The running she had just done made her otherwise pale skin a healthy rosy shade, especially on her cheeks. And those eyes... she had the most stunning blue eyes...

"Um... can I... have my ferret back, please?"

Fate snapped out of her trance and looked again at the ferret and then at the girl. She asked stupidly, "This is yours?"

The young woman nodded. Fate noticed her nervousness.

"This thing that just sexually harrassed me? It's yours?"

"I didn't _tell_ him to do that! You have to believe me!" The woman had started flapping her arms every which way as she tried to convince Fate, "Yuuno didn't mean any harm either, I swear!"

Fate looked at the ferret, which was now looking back at her curiously. She didn't really care about what the little criminal had just done, but she did care about his owner. With resolve, Fate decided that she was going to use him to her advantage while he was still in her grasp. She stood, smiling all the while. She petted the ferret affectionately so that it would have no reason to scurry out of her grasp anytime soon. "You want him back?"

The woman hesitated and gave her an odd look. Suspicious even. "Yes... he's mine after all."

"Hmm..." Fate took a step forward, and the woman took a step back, watching her. "How am I going to give him back if you don't let me approach you?"

The woman obediently held out her hands to receive her pet.

Fate didn't offer him up quite yet. "You know the city has a rule about pets that are being walked require a leash, right? So incidents like this don't happen. At least not as often."

Slowly, the hands lowered. "I... I just got him. I couldn't find a collar that would fit him."

"Ah, I see." Fate nodded understandingly, stroking Yuuno's neck, which he seemed to like. "That _is_ a problem then."

"Umm..."

"You should come back to my place. The place I work at. I can fix something up to work until you find a legit collar and leash for him."

"Ah! I really couldn't impose on you like that. I'll be extra careful next time, I promise." The woman fidgeted. Fate could tell she _really_ did not like sticking around one place a whole lot. Or perhaps she was nervous because she believed her ferret had suddenly become the hostage of a stranger. Well, it had, so Fate couldn't blame her for that.

Fate warned, "You know, I could have this little guy impounded for that little stunt he pulled. Would you rather I do that?"

"NO!" The woman took a breath and said quieter, "No, please. I... Really... If I could just have him back..."

"Service."

"What?"

Fate grinned, leaning over so that their faces were centimeters apart. "You've got to give me some sort of service. Something that'll make me forget that _this_ ever happened."

She hesitated, clearly wary of the stranger before her. "L-like what?"

"Hmm... I'm not sure yet." Fate grinned. "Walk with me back to my place and maybe I'll have come up with something by then."

There was silence. Then the woman asked, "How far away is it?"

_'Victory.'_ "It's about a ten-minute walk. Not far. You know the MiddyC on Main Street?"

"The burger place? Oh... yeah, I know it. It's not far."

Fate nodded. _'Didn't I just say that?'_ "My place is across the street from there. So, shall we go?"

She still hesitated. "Do I have a choice?"

Fate frowned, considering this. "Not really. Not if you want your precious Yuuno back."

The woman sighed. "Fine. My afternoon was free anyway."

Petting Yuuno, Fate asked, "Have you trained him personally yet?"

"What? No, of course not. I only got him a few days ago..."

Fate grinned even more. Holding Yuuno in her left hand, she looked at her left shoulder and then tapped it while looking at Yuuno and whistling through the side of her lips, as if she had a gap in her teeth. After she jerked her head a few times in gesturing, Yuuno crawled up her arm to her shoulder, where Fate petted him again. Fate then clapped the excess molted fur off her hands before she returned to the bench to pick up her sketchbook and put it back into her shoulder bag.

As she straightened, Fate whistled again and pointed to her hand, and Yuuno obediently went where she directed. As Fate grinned, Yuuno's owner looked on with open awe.

"That's incredible! How did you get him to do that?"

Fate chuckled as she started walking away, prompting the woman to follow her. "Ferrets are intuitively smart creatures. Plus, I recently finished nearly wringing his little neck, so he knows what happens if he _doesn't_ obey, but at the same time..."

"At the same time...?"

Fate leaned down and kissed Yuuno's wet nose, and he reacted with a little squeak. "I think he likes me."

The woman huffed indignantly. "Oh, what, and he doesn't like me?"

Fate looked over at her and instead of answering, asked, "What's your name?"

"Eh?" The woman scratched her cheek nervously. "Takamachi. Takamachi Nanoha. What's yours?"

"Nanoha... Nanoha... nice name. I'm Fate Testerossa. Or as you might say, Testerossa Fate."

"Fate... chan?"

Fate rolled her eyes. "Call me whatever you like. I still have your ferret."

Nanoha puffed out her cheeks as she blurted out, "What's the big deal anyway? He's just a little animal. Can't you just forgive and let live?"

Fate raised an eyebrow at her and then spoke to Yuuno. "She just doesn't understand, does she?" Yuuno squeaked.

Nanoha eyed her nervously. "Understand what?"

As they stopped at an intersection to wait for traffic, Fate took the opportunity to look at Nanoha more closely. She would make a fine model indeed. Very proportionate, very neat, and at the same time, very distinct. It was the ideal base to work off of. _'But how shall I convince her...? This little ferret isn't going to carry me _that_ far. Maybe just a sketch and then I'll leave it to luck if she comes back to see the finished product.' _Fate covered her mouth with her free hand as she sniffed with restrained laughter. _'Right, so my goal is to make her willing to come back for a second modeling. Keep it professional, Testerossa. Remember, she's a potential model; not a girl I'm trying to land a second date with before the first even begins.'_

"What's so funny?"

Fate smiled over at her as the crossed the street. "It's nothing. So, Nanoha. Are you interested in art at all?"

"Art?" Nanoha frowned, wondering where that had come from. "Um, sort of. Actually, not really. I took art class in school and all, but it never really held my interest. The most art I have in my apartment is a large glass-blown necklace."

Fate fought to chuckle over how easy it was to extract information from Nanoha. She was obviously still very unassuming, despite her suspicious looks earlier. "I'm an apprentice at an art studio. Maybe if you were the model instead of the artist, you'd be able to appreciate it a bit more. How about it?"

Fate had the pleasure of seeing Nanoha's cheeks glow with a bright pink blush. "M-Model?"

Nodding, Fate repeated, "Model. Specifically, for me."

"Specifically... for you?"

Fate frowned. "Did I not enunciate clearly enough for you?" She leaned in close, getting satisfaction from the way Nanoha's face instantly lit up. "It'll take ten minutes. Twenty if I go for quality. Thirty if you agree to nude."

"What?! I...!!"

Fate raised an eyebrow, watching as Nanoha flustered herself into getting tongue-twisted. She prompted, "'I'?"

"I. Don't. Do. Nudes."

"Ooh, so you like to do it with your clothes on? Kinky." As Nanoha stared at her, she simply laughed and opened the door to the studio, adding softly, "Oh, I'm just teasing. Just for the record, I prefer doing it with clothes on as well. Some clothes, at least."

Nanoha said nothing as she steadfastly looked around the small shop. She ran towards a framed painting in the corner and pointed at it. "Did you do this?"

Fate chuckled. "Did you wish I did?" She looked at the portrait Nanoha had pointed out. It was a dual portrayal of the puppy-form and grownup-form of her dog. From cute to fierce in ten short years. She was amazed Arf's senses hadn't dulled in the slightest, but in fact grew sharper. "My mentor drew it for my Arf's tenth birthday."

"Your Arf?" She looked at Fate with something akin to confusion and amusement.

Fate frowned at what she interpreted as the condescending way Nanoha repeated her dog's name. Whistling from the back of her teeth, she summoned 'Arf'. She made sure to keep a good grip on Yuuno, because she knew he would start squirming and try to get away the moment her dear Arf came around the corner. Nanoha, to her credit, only draped herself over the rack behind her rather involuntarily.

"Hey there, Arf. You been good?" Fate smiled as she affectionately stroked her head. She watched as Arf in turn eyed Yuuno. Her tongue hung out as she panted eagerly. "No, Arf. You can't eat him." Arf whimpered, and Fate hugged her.

"T-That's allowed inside a store?!"

Fate huffed at her rudeness, calling Arf a 'that'. Though she supposed it wasn't every day one saw a crossbreed quite like her. When Fate had found her as a pup, she had decided Arf was something akin to what would happen if you successfully crossbreeded a fox and a wolf. She got her full size from the latter, though she was smaller than the former when she'd been found. Now, she took up a whole aisle and then some. But Fate had trained her well, and she was careful not to knock things over when she was indoors.

Fate turned to Nanoha. "This is Arf. My dog."

"That's not a dog."

Fate rolled my eyes. Nanoha wasn't the first to be skeptical of Arf. But she didn't care. "Either way, she's mine. You can look around the shop on your way out. For now, let's go upstairs. Come on, Arf."

Arf 'arf'ed and led the way up the back stairwell behind the counter. Fate comfortingly stroked Yuuno's back, knowing full well that Arf ate animals like him for mere snacks. Arf was a good guard dog, and didn't mind going after rats on occassion either. At the top of the stairs, Fate turned back to make sure Nanoha was following her, which she was. At a little pat from her master, Arf went to lie down in the pile of blankets in the corner that was her bed. Yuuno seemed to calm down considerably at that.

Fate made a grand sweeping gesture at the haphazardly organized studio and said, "Voila, my humble abode."

Nanoha looked around uncertainly. "You live here too?"

Fate nodded. "The rent is cheaper that way. I can spend more of my money on other ventures."

Nanoha said nothing as she looked around, giving Fate the chance to set Yuuno down and gather her things. Eventually however, Nanoha asked, "What are you doing?"

Fate blinked and looked down at her sketchpad. "Getting ready to sketch you. I said I would, didn't I?"

Nanoha flushed. "Y-you were serious?"

Fate huffed. "Of course I was serious. What do you take me for, a cheap porno photographer?"

"Um... no..."

"You just thought 'I only thought it for a second' didn't you? Just now."

"Umm... no?"

Fate sighed as she sat down with her box of pencils and propped the sketchbook on her lap. "Well, I'm ready whenever you are."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Anything you like. As long as you don't leave the room, don't try to hide your face, or move too much once you've settled."

"You're not going to ask me to take off my clothes, are you?" Nanoha hugged herself insecurely.

"No," Fate smiled. "But you're welcome to if you like."

Nanoha ignored the latter statement as she found herself looking over at Arf. "Can I... can I pet her?"

Fate smiled at Nanoha's willingness. "She won't mind, as long as you don't act scared of her. She's actually quite nice. Playful too."

Nanoha walked over and spoke a few words of greeting to Arf before sitting down amongst the bed of blankets and pillows. Arf licked the hand that petted her before resting her head on Nanoha's lap, giving her better access.

Fate reached for her polaroid and took a quick snapshot. Setting it down, she started to sketch. A ghost of word filtered past her lips as she started her attempt to transfer transient beauty to inadequate paper. "Perfect..."

"Fate?"

"Mm?" It hadn't even been five minutes yet, was she going to talk the whole time? Well, that didn't really matter. Fate had performed well enough under worser conditions.

"Why do you sketch if you have a camera?"

"Because the camera only catches objectivity. Art adds subjectivity, and thus comes closer to the subject's true beauty."

Nanoha laughed nervously before she turned her gaze to the spot of fur where she was petting Arf.

It was peaceful for a good few minutes more.

Then, "Fate?"

"What, now?"

"Oh, sorry."

Fate shook her head, her eyes continuing to flick from her work to the model to get appropriate proportions. "It's fine. What is it?"

"Um... Why did you want to... have me as your model? Aren't there a lot better things to be drawing?"

"You think so? You should consider yourself honored." Fate smirked at her confused expression. "I was two seconds away from considering drawing the two ducks I saw doing it on the lake."

Nanoha blinked rapidly. "You saw what?"

"Yeah, I was surprised too. But trust me, this right here, it's great. _Much_ better material to work with."

Nanoha frowned, a little confused. "Why?"

Fate looked at her, slowly realizing that she simply wanted to know more about the thinking process than anything else. Shifting in her seat before continuing her sketching, Fate explained, "Well, I happen to specialize in drawing females for one thing. So it'll turn out better. And I needed something that would capture my attention as well as that of whoever else looked at the finished product."

Fate realized too late that her comment had been suggestive. "What are you going to do with 'the finished product'?"

Without missing a beat, Fate answered, "Hang it up in my room, if it's good enough." It wasn't a lie. It would just go to the exhibition first. It'd go to her room if it failed to fetch a high bidder.

Nanoha was suspicious again though, and Fate was glad she had finished with the facial expression while Nanoha was still sporting a peacefully content smile. "Is that all?"

"Oh? You're not bothered by that. So you don't mind a stranger hanging your picture up on their wall?"

Nanoha flushed. "Not if I know who it is and I know it's there."

"Hmm..."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You were going to say something."

"No, I wasn't." Fate held her pencil out in front of her, measuring by eye the scale proportions. The crisp sound of pencil against paper threatened to echo around the room. "My room's pretty dinky, so only the best work is there."

"Can I see it afterwards?"

Fate raised an eyebrow. She teased, "I don't bring girls into my bedroom on the first date."

Nanoha flushed and her response was lost in her embarrassed stammering. "Why do you keep _doing_ that?"

"Doing what?"

"T... teasing me like that."

"Oh? Would you rather I made good on my word? You're cute enough; I wouldn't object if you don't."

"I object, I object!"

Fate chuckled as she finished the general outline and started putting in the details. "It's really a mess right now, in all seriousness. I'd feel bad if you saw it right now."

"Worse than this room?"

Fate huffed. "This room is ten times cleaner than my room."

"Oh." Nanoha looked down, no doubt imagining what ten times messier than a pigsty looked like. "Then... could you bring out some of your artwork? I want to see."

"Want to see proof of my skill?" Fate smiled offhandedly. "I don't mind, but I'm not really that skilled yet. I improve noticeably with every piece I finish though. That's good enough for now."

The silence that followed was both peaceful and short.

"How old are you?"

"Older than you probably." Fate continued to sketch unheeded.

"I'm 20."

"So am I. Birthday?"

"Exactly a month from today."

"Oh? Mine's in two weeks."

They had a little staring contest. Nanoha looked away first.

Realizing talking about mundane things made Nanoha less nervous, Fate offered, "How long have you lived in this town? I moved here when I was in 3rd grade."

"I was born and raised here."

Fate nodded.

"My family runs a bakery."

"Okay."

"It's really good stuff. The paper raved about them just the other day."

"I'll take your word for it."

"Do you like sweets?"

"I like sweet girls." Fate smiled up at her. "I also like sweet girls that know how to make sweet things. Does good baking run in your family?"

"I..." Nanoha half-smiled sheepishly. "I know the recipes by heart."

"What about your own creations?"

"Um. I'm not very creative."

Fate chuckled. "I'll taste test for you. If ever you decide you want to try to bake something new, bring it over and I'll try some. I may not be some fancy hot-shot newspaper critic, but I can at least be honest."

"What if it makes you sick?"

"Then I'll sell this painting and pay the hospital bills with it."

Nanoha blinked. "You're making a painting out of it?"

Fate shrugged. "I haven't decided. My mentor says I don't improve in anything because I pride myself in being a jack-of-all trades. I'm a painter, a photographer, a sculptor, and on really good days, I can make a real mean glass-blown object."

"Oh wow. Do you write, too?"

"No, not really. I've tried; I'm not all that good at it. I'm more visual than... verbal? I guess that would be it."

"Do you make money off of it?"

"Off of what, my work? I get money as a paid cashier here. On occassion, some of my stuff is out on display, but I've only sold a few."

"Oh... why?"

Fate smiled. "What kind of person do you think I am?"

"A dirt poor one?"

"Hey!" Fate pouted.

"Ah, sorry, sorry! It just slipped out..."

Fate chuckled. "No, it's okay. Yeah, I _am _pretty poor these days. Mainly 'cause what I _could _make money off of, I give away."

"Why?"

"Because I make trinkets for kids. Simple stuff that they can enjoy too. They're so cute when they're happy, I can't help but indulge them a little."

"You're... really nice, aren't you?"

Fate smiled. "On my good days." She wondered if she should tell Nanoha that she had finished the sketch and had even added shading. Doodling below the sketch, making an enlarged sketch of her eyes, Fate hummed, "I also donate some to the church. They sell it, but they keep the profits."

"Oh..."

"This painting is going to be for the Church's auction/exhibition coming up soon. I actually feel kind of bad, because to date, I've only given the Church the pieces I wasn't really personally satisfied with."

"...Oh."

"Which brings me to a dilemna 'cause I'm thinking that if I don't keep this one, I might be able to sell it for a really good price. It might even be the one I make my name with."

Nanoha looked away, and Fate didn't even have to look up to know she was blushing.

Deciding that she had put Nanoha through enough torture, Fate set her things down and walked over to Nanoha. Leaning down, she kissed her cheek, which instantly made Nanoha turn towards her.

Fate grinned. Softly, she said, "Thank you for your time. It may take a while, but when the final product is done, I'll notify you. If you give me something I can contact you by."

"Come by the bakery." Nanoha's cheeks were still pink as she searched her purse and took out a business card. "Can you find your way there?"

Fate looked at the address and nodded before pocketing it. "I've been down that way before. Do you live where you work too?"

Nanoha nodded. "The house is behind the bakery."

"I'll make note of that."

Nanoha looked at her oddly, but seemed to shake it off. "So... I guess I should go now? Leave you to your... work?"

"You can. Unless you want to stay."

Nanoha blinked. "Do you _want_ me to stay?"

Apparently, she hadn't figured out that Fate had spent the last hour or so projecting her desire for Nanoha to stay. She smiled. "I wouldn't hate it."

Nanoha opened her mouth as if to agree, but just then her cell phone went off. It was a nice, catchy little tune, and she quickly picked it up. After a few minutes of talking, she hung up and apologized. "That was my mom. She... wants me to get back home."

"Pity." Fate stood up, offering a helping hand to Nanoha, which the latter accepted. "Well, feel free to come by later if you like."

"Okay."

Fate walked her to the door, making sure Yuuno followed his owner. Nanoha stopped on the sidewalk just outside the door. Fate watched her, amused. "What's wrong? Forget something?"

"Yeah." Nanoha turned, and before Fate knew what was happening, soft lips touched her cheek. Blushing, Nanoha whispered, "Thanks for being nice. I really hope we can be good friends in the future. I'll come visit, I promise."

"Don't make promises." Fate met Nanoha's gaze full on. "If you don't see me, just call my name, and I'll find my way to you."

Nanoha didn't say anything to that, nodding simply before hurrying off.

Fate leaned against the door, watching her go.

"Was that a customer or a new girlfriend?"

Fate turned to see her mentor walking up the road towards her. She straightened and smiled. "Neither. She... is my newest inspiration."

Her mentor chuckled and walked into the store as Fate opened the door for her. "So it's the latter for the sake of the former. I suppose that's decent enough. You need to get out more though, Fate."

Fate smiled as she followed her in. "I'm sorry I was out while you had to go get supplies. I would have picked them up for you if you'd told me before I left, Precia-san."

Precia shook her head. "No, it's fine. I wanted to talk with the supplies store owner anyway."

"Ah, are you and Father getting along well these days?"

Precia laughed. "Define 'well'. I believe I challenged him to a bet."

"What sort of bet?"

"That my little artist could beat his little #4 any day. Specifically, on exhibition day."

Fate stared. "Precia-san, you didn't..."

"I hope this new inspiration of yours does the job, Fate. Your 'allowance' for the next six months depends on it."

"Six months?!" Fate groaned into the palm of her hand. But after the surprise wore off, she couldn't help but smile.

This was one bet she could help Precia win. With Nanoha's help, of course.

End Chapter

A/N: This will be posted in conjunction with another story of mine that I'm preparing. This story is already finished at 3 chapters, roughly 12000 words, and has already been posted on the wwWeb. However, I'll still be posting the chapters in weekly intervals and I still ask for reviews to get feedback. XP Please and thank you 3

Oh, and Disclaimer: I don't own anything that isn't mine to own.


	2. Nano

**Artist!Fate Part 2- Nanoha**

"Nanoha? What are you doing up so early?"

"Nyahaha..." Nanoha looked up from mixing her batter. "Good morning, Mom. Did I wake you up?"

"'Good morning' my heinie. It's 4AM!" Momoko sighed and shook her head. She walked over and looked at the ingredients that had gone into the mix. "Hm... cookies?"

"Mmhmm. I was in the mood to bake but I didn't want to get in the way during store hours. Ah, I'll clean all this up before we have to start preparing for the day."

"It's okay. Most of this will need to be taken out again anyway. Are you finished putting in ingredients?"

"Mmhmm. Ah!" Momoko looked up from reaching for the chocolate chips. "I still need to add those. Everything else I'm done with though."

Momoko nodded and started shifting things around so that the counters looked a bit neater, cleaning up here and there where Nanoha had gotten a little messy. "It's odd though."

"What is?"

"You don't normally feel up to baking." Momoko smiled as she teased, "Is this a one time thing or will you be helping out more during store hours?"

"Don't I always help?"

"Hmm..." Momoko stopped as she noticed something. "Nanoha? Did you put this in there?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah. I just thought I try it and see how it came out."

"Ah... experimenting are you? That's why you aren't doing it during store hours."

Nanoha nodded simply.

Momoko leaned over on the counter, watching as her daughter added the chocolate chips and began to stir anew. "We do have a mixer, you know."

"I know." A small smile came to Nanoha's lips as she whispered, "A machine can mix objectively, but doing it by hand... adds subjectivity... you can put your feelings into each stroke."

A knowing smile came to Momoko's lips. "You're making this for someone special, aren't you." It wasn't a question.

"I don't think I could say 'special' just yet, but they... inspired me."

"Inspired you?"

Nanoha nodded. "Inspired me to find a recipe I can call my own."

Momoko said nothing, musing on the power of whoever it was that could 'inspire' her uninspired Nanoha. She hoped she would get a chance to try it before it went out to whoever was the recipient. Standing, Momoko said her last words. "Well, I'll leave you to it then. I'm going back upstairs to get changed for the day. Save me one or two to try later, won't you?"

"All right. But only if it turns out well."

Nanoha started humming as she was left alone, and a small smile came to her lips. It had been nearly two weeks since she had first met Fate, and she had gone to see her at every chance she got since then. In fact, she had come the next day, simply with the excuse that Fate had promised to make a makeshift leash for Yuuno and had forgotten, but after they talked more, Nanoha found herself walking to the studio more frequently than she realized. Perhaps she had hoped to get a peek at Fate's finished piece of her, but Fate refused to even so much as work on it when she was there. But she always smiled, so it must have been coming along nicely.

Nanoha smiled as she thought of Fate. It had taken a while, but she had finally cracked through Fate's defenses and had found at least one button she could push if she wanted to tease rather than get teased. _'Fate has such a cute blush...'_ It was a dangerous game she played though, and if Fate ever saw through her, it would bring them back to where they started. Nanoha remembered the day before, when she had taken a walk around town with Fate just to hang out.

--

"What's your favorite activity?" Nanoha had been thinking of something to ask for the past thirty seconds, which seemed shorter to Fate than to Nanoha. "Between taking photos, painting, and sculpting?"

Fate hummed as she thought about it. "Each has their different appeal. With photos, while getting just the right angle and lighting is important and ultimately satisfying if you do it right, it's kind of quick and painless. Painting takes a long time when you really put care into it, but the variances of color help produce something... very fullfilling to me. And you can paint things into 'reality' that you wouldn't otherwise find. The same goes for sculpting, but there's just something special about being able to put your hands on something and _mold_ art as you see fit." Fate stopped and then laughed to herself. "I suppose you could say I love them all."

Nanoha tried to hint, "So have you decided what medium you're going to use for the piece with me in it?"

Fate smirked and waggled her finger. "It's an artist's perogative to keep things like that secret till the final day."

"Isn't there something in the guidebook that says models have their perogatives too?"

Fate chuckled. She said nothing until her eyes fell on the ice cream cart a little ways away. Pointing to it, she said, "Models get free ice cream when I can afford it. Like today."

Nanoha pouted, even as she walked with Fate to the cart. "That's a pretty cheap commission. Bought for 200 yen."

After they sat down with their ice cream, Fate murmured with a soft sigh, "I love ice cream... You know I count my paycheck by how many ice cream bars I can buy with it?"

Nanoha giggled. "That's silly." She did _not_ mention that she counted her own allowance based on how many more installments she would need to buy the advertised BBGun Bazooka called 'Starlight Breaker'.

"You wanna know why I love eating ice cream with someone else even more?"

Nanoha blinked, falling for it. "Why?"

Fate leaned in close, her lips mere centimeters from Nanoha's. And then she extended her tongue...

...and licked off a little ice cream that had gotten away. Nanoha was about to wipe off the spot with her handkerchief and make a comment about how gross that was, when she caught the way Fate was watching her. In a snap, Nanoha thought of retaliation.

She licked her lips, inadvertently swiping the place Fate's tongue had just been. "Yummy."

Fate stared with a slack jaw for a good two seconds before the blush went from a rating of 2 to 10 in .75 seconds.

_'Bingo.'_ Nanoha laughed, her eyes becoming lidded as she openly teased, "Oh-ho... I see how it is now. When was the last time _you've_ been on the receiving end?"

Fate quickly looked away, licking her ice cream quietly.

Nanoha scooted closer to her on the bench.

Fate scooted a little farther away.

"Fate."

Fate looked up and saw Nanoha smile at her. "What?"

"You're really cute, you know that?"

Fate stared at her for another second before starting to chomp onto the ice cream cone. "Oh hush you."

Nanoha giggled and finished her own ice cream, feeling satisfied in the most complete yet simplest of ways.

For the rest of the day, she had started 'payback' for the two weeks of teasing and blushing that she had endured. Oddly enough, when she thought about the blush she would see on Fate's face if she said or did one thing or another, it never occurred to her that being the one causing it might be reason to be embarrassed as well.

When they returned to the studio that day, Fate was greeted by two little kids whom she seemed to recognize very easily. Smiling as they hugged her, she greeted, "Erio, Caro, how are you doing?"

"Good!" They chimed as one, before Erio, a red-headed little boy who was a bit taller than the girl, said, "We were waiting for you."

"Not for long I hope?"

Caro shook her head. "No, it was only a little bit. Precia-san said you would be coming back soon so we waited."

Fate chuckled, ultimately ignoring Nanoha as she walked around the counter to take something out of the cupboard. Placing two small boxes on the counter, she asked, "Could this be what you were waiting for?"

Their eyes lit up with glee as they reached out their hands and Fate placed the marked boxes in their hands.

Nanoha walked around the counter and nudged Fate as they both watched the kids take out what looked like pendants. "You made those?"

Fate nodded. "They don't take much time to make. Erio, Caro, do you like them?"

"Yes! Thank you very much!"

Erio grinned as he turned to Caro. "Caro, watch me! Strada, Set UP!" He then proceeded to twirl around, deftly pulling out something akin to a toy light saber / extended pole, moving into a defensive stance. "Rawr!"

Nanoha put a hand to her mouth to quickly muffle her giggling. Fate didn't even bother to try covering it up.

Especially when Caro held up her white dragon mini-figurine and said, "Ooh, me too! Friedriche! I choose YOU!"

They ran circles around each other, making sound effects and whatnot as they played. Eventually however, they calmed down, put their new pendants around their necks, and bowed to Fate in thanks.

Erio stepped forward and dug into his pocket before setting down some coins on the counter. "Mama said taking stuff without paying is stealing, so we went looked underneath the cushions and everything and this was what we could gather. Is it enough?"

Fate smiled as she made a show of counting the money. "Oh, you gave me too much. Here, take back the 500 yen piece." She smiled as she handed back the coin, the one with the biggest value out of the coins there.

Erio, unaware of this, accepted the 'change'. He bowed again as Fate scooped up the coins and put them in the cash register, ringing up the amount so that it could spit out a receipt. Erio stuffed the receipt in his pocket as he grinned. "Thanks a lot, Fate-neechan."

Caro added, "We always love the things you make for us."

Fate chuckled and waved her hand. "You're very welcome, you two. Now, it's getting late, so go on home before your Mama starts worrying."

"Yes, Neechan!" The two little kids waved frantically before hurrying off, the bell ringing as the door flew open.

Nanoha smiled as she watched Fate smile contentedly after the kids. Fate then glanced over and caught her looking at her.

"What?"

Nanoha shook her head. "Nothing."

"You were going to say something. What?"

"It's really nothing."

Fate looked at her, obviously not buying it for a second. She held her hands up in a poised position for attack. "I'll tickle you if you don't tell me."

Nanoha giggled and stepped away so that the stair banister separated her from Fate. "Well... It just occurred to me that... if Fate were the mother of my children, I would feel very comfortable with leaving them in her care."

Cue Blush of a Thousand Shades.

Nanoha giggled and laughed as Fate chased her up the stairs. The walls shook as Fate toppled over Nanoha, landing them both in Arf's bed. One tickle fest later, during which their positions reversed several times, they ended up lying side by side.

Breathing a little harder than she might have otherwise been, Fate muttered, "There are some things that shouldn't be mentioned in jest."

Nanoha breathed, "Sorry then. But you made me say it."

"I know." Fate didn't offer an apology.

Nanoha placed a caressing hand against Fate's cheek, and was surprised when Fate leaned into her touch, seemingly unconsciously, before jerking back. Nanoha purred, "Is Fate-chan embarrassed about being touched?"

Fate looked away. "Not especially. As long as it's not by ferrets."

"So you don't mind if I touch you?" Nanoha felt oddly honored by this allowance and settled for placing her hand over Fate's.

"Do... do _you _mind?" Fate's blush was back. "If I... If I touch you?"

"I like Fate-chan." Nanoha giggled, wondering why she felt so happy about saying that even when she only meant it as friends. "Why would I mind?"

Fate said nothing, scooting over to wrap her arms around her. Nanoha reciprocated in kind.

They lay like that for several minutes before Fate's hands started to roam.

Nanoha would have stopped her at several points if she hadn't been captivated by the soft murmur of Fate's voice close to her ear. It was largely indistinguishable, so Nanoha had to keep quiet in order to decipher it properly.

When she realized what it was, however, Nanoha asked, baffled, "Are you _measuring_ me?"

"Sorry." Fate's muttering stopped. Leaning back so that they were looking at each other again, Fate explained, "I just wanted to check if my guess at your proportions were accurate."

Nanoha's cheeks stopped one shade shy of pink. "... Were they?"

Fate looked down. Nanoha looked down as well and saw her own chest. "Mostly. Just one area left I'm not sure on..."

Nanoha sighed, sitting up. "I'll leave that one purely to your imagination."

Fate pouted, but shrugged it off. "You'd make a good pillow in any case. Regardless of that."

Nanoha shook her head as she stood up. "I should be getting home about now. I usually help with the evening shifts at the bakery."

"Oh? I'll walk you back?"

"That's okay; the sun hasn't even set yet. I'll be fine."

Nanoha was about to go downstairs when she felt Fate's hand close over her wrist. "Nanoha..."

"Hm?" Nanoha smiled at her.

"Did I... did I offend you somehow? Are you mad at me?"

Nanoha stopped, and Fate loosened her hold on her. Deciding she would have one last parting shot before she left for the day, she started, "Not really... but next time your hands feel like 'exploring' my body..." Leaning in close to Fate's ear, she whispered, "Make it a subjective experience; not an objective one, hm? Though I won't deny that it felt nice either way."

Giggling, Nanoha waved, said she'd see herself out, and skipped down the stairs, leaving a surprised Fate in her wake.

--

Nanoha looked down at the freshly baked cookies before nodding and tying the ribbon around the top of the bag. "I hope she likes it."

Nanoha checked the clock and verified that while still early, it was a somewhat more agreeable hour of the day. Somewhat. Wondering if Fate woke early, Nanoha decided that delivering the cookies simply could not wait. She neatened up the kitchen a bit more and put away her apron before hurrying off. She passed her mother on her way out, told her where she was going, and promised to be back in an hour or two.

With that, Nanoha set off on her trek across town to the studio.

When she arrived, the street was surprisingly quiet, unless one remembered that this was a sleepy town that didn't wake up until about noon. She sighed when she found that the store front still announced, "CLOSED".

She decided to walk over to the park where she had met Fate and stroll for a while. She had woken up with more energy than she needed today.

The park was completely deserted. Nanoha didn't even see the casual morning jogger. She looked around as she slowed her pace to enjoy the solitude.

That's when she saw it.

Nanoha was more than a little amazed to see Fate with an easel in front of her and a palette balanced on her left hand. Smiling, she creeped up behind her, a convenient route as Fate already had her back turned towards her.

When she came close enough to look over Fate's shoulder, Nanoha stopped, breathless.

"That _can't_ be me."

What Fate was painting... was already more beautiful than anything Nanoha could have ever imagined seeing.

Even the cookies in her bag felt insignificant in comparison.

"Nano...ha."

Nanoha caught a glimmer of something in Fate's eyes behind the shock. The expression that Fate had been painting with.

Was that...

Could it be that...

Nanoha met Fate's gaze head on.

Was this the work of someone who had nothing but the best of feelings to add to the sublime 'subjectivity' of the artpiece?

If this was the difference between with and without emotion... than just how _did_ Fate see her?

Which brought another question to mind.

How did Nanoha really feel about Fate in return?

_End Chapter_

A/N: This chapter is a little short I think. Thanks for your reviews! I was really surprised when most of them came within like 12 hours of posting. n.n I ish a happy camper so thank you. Look forward to the finish next week!

**Litha:** I couldn't respond directly since you reviewed "anonymously" so I'll comment here. I thought it a bit odd at first that you would be so happy to have Yuuno turned into a ferret, considering he /is/ a ferret changeling, but then I realized you meant turned into a normal ferret rather than an opposer to NanoFateness. n.n Sadly, I kind of forget about him in this chapter and the next... n.n... he's just a lil bit player here. Also, what does " 'Se feliz, como una perdiz, comiendo lombriz ;D!" mean? I thought it might be "Be happy, like a bird eating worms" but I don't think perdiz is bird? (pajaro?) Meh... lil things...


	3. NanoFate

A/N: Posting a little early

Part 3- Fate and Nanoha.

Fate cursed. Badly. "N-Nanoha, what are you doing here?"

Nanoha took a step back and Fate realized she had been a bit harsh. "Um, g... good morning?"

Fate looked at Nanoha and then followed her gaze to the painting. Sighing, she relaxed her guard and muttered, "It's not finished yet. You shouldn't look at it yet."

Nanoha shook her head vigorously, taking the implicit invitation to step forward to get a better look. A gray shadow of an outline could be seen against the canvas, perhaps as guidelines for the paint that went over it. The hair and the body was largely colored in but... the face was left blank, as if she were a mere shadow of a person.

Fate repeated, "It's not done."

Nanoha nodded simply. The silence extended.

"Why are you even here? Did you come looking for me? It's still really early."

"Ah!" Nanoha remembered why she had left the house in the first place. But seeing the painting, even unfinished, made her realize that her weak attempts would pale in comparison. Fate might even lose all sense of inspiration and stop painting. And it would be her fault. Nanoha shook her head. "I-It's nothing. I was just... I felt like seeing your face."

Nanoha blushed almost as red as Fate did. Even though it was consciously a lie... now that she was here, she began to doubt that it wasn't the truth. "It..." Fate smiled hesitantly. "It's good to see you too."

Nanoha fidgeted. If she stuck around much longer, she might actually give Fate her horrible cookies. She took a step back. "Um... well... I should go... I promised my mom I'd help open up the store today." Another lie. Why was she lying for?

Fate didn't seem to notice. "Ah... oh. Will you come by later?"

Nanoha blinked, unsure. "Do you want me to?"

Fate turned her head away, though her gaze flicked over to Nanoha several times as she spoke. "We... we're having a party tonight... Dinner... Maybe some dancing... will you come?"

"At the studio? What time?" Nanoha wondered if she had time to come over. She probably did but...

"It'll be at my father's house... I'll walk with you there if you come to the stuido around 5... It's not far."

Everything seemed to be 'not far' in Fate's book. It occurred to Nanoha to ask, "What's the occasion?"

Fate blinked and looked at her, the blush fading. "Didn't I ever tell you?" She started to look hurt. "Or did you forget?"

"Forget what?" Nanoha looked as confused as she felt.

"Then... you coming this far out to find me was... a coincidence?"

Nanoha frowned. She didn't like seeing Fate sad. "Maybe I didn't forget. What are you referring to?"

"Today's my birthday. My 21st."

"But you said..." Nanoha stopped, realizing that it /_was_/ about two weeks since they met. "Oh. It was today? You never said. You only said it was 'in two weeks'."

Fate looked away. "It's okay. But can you come? I know it's short notice but..."

Nanoha grinned. "I'd love to. My mom probably won't mind either. Hmm... should I dress up?"

"Ah... don't feel you need to. It'll be casual."

"Oh... okay." Nanoha paused. Why was Fate so quiet all of a sudden? "Fate?"

"Hm?"

"Are you all right?"

Fate blinked as if she were just coming out of a trance. "Hm? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, I'm not a very talkative morning person."

"Tired?" Despite Nanoha's earlier intention to leave, she found herself stalling for time to stay. "Did you stay up late?"

"Not really. I went to bed relatively early..." Fate smiled. "For me at least."

Nanoha frowned, but didn't really question it. She looked at the painting again. "When do you think you'll be done?"

"On some level, I don't think I'll ever be done. But I'll be done with the basic coloring by tonight. After that it's just tweaking and modifying for effect."

"That soon?"

Fate looked at her. "I have the day off, so I have time to paint. I'll be going back to the studio before people start walking around here though."

"Oh..."

"Why? What are you thinking?"

"Ah, nothing!" Nanoha laughed nervously even as she considered what she would get for Fate as a birthday present. These cookies definitely wouldn't suffice. "Um, um, I'll see you tonight then. I'll leave you to your, um, work."

Fate continued to give her an odd, confused look, but nodded. "I'll be waiting."

Nanoha raised a hand as if she was going to gesture about something, but it fell limply back to her side. "Um... yeah. Bye." With that, Nanoha rather unceremoniously ran off.

--

The daytime hours passed rather quickly, with Nanoha frantically looking for something that she could passably give to Fate as a gift. It had to be something good, something worthy of someone artistic like Fate who cared more about feelings than material value. It was a little past the lunch rush hour when she hit upon an idea and went looking for the necessary instruments to help implement her plan.

Meanwhile, Fate passed a rather boring day painting, although she did receive many the occasional visit from the neighborhood children who came bearing gifts like worshippers to an altar. It was sweet, but her thoughts were centered more on Nanoha. What would she give her? Would she give her anything at all? Fate still had to think of what she would get for Nanoha for _her_ birthday in another couple of weeks. She knew there was no obligation to do so, but she still wanted to nonetheless.

Around four, Fate put down her paintbrush, gave her work a sweeping glance, and then placed a light cover over it. She was just getting out of the shower when Precia knocked on the bathroom door.

"Fate, Nanoha-chan is here."

"Okay, tell her I'll be out in a second."

"Hmm... It's been 'a second', Fate."

"Precia-san! I'll be ready in ten minutes tops!"

Precia chuckled. "If you say so, Fate. I'll be downstairs keeping her company then."

"All right."

Fate scurried around upstairs, hopping across the room as she tried to put on a sock while going from the bathroom to her bedroom. She ended up tripping and falling on her bed, but she picked herself up again quickly and continued getting ready. Soon, after a last glance in the mirror, Fate headed downstairs. "Sorry to keep you wai-"

"11 minutes and 2 seconds. Tsk, tsk Fate."

Fate rolled her eyes. "Whatever, I'm here now, aren't I? Sorry, Nanoha."

Nanoha smiled and shook her head. "No, it's okay. Are we all going now?"

Precia nodded. "If little Miss-thinks-she-can-keep-guests-waiting-just-because-she's-the-birthday-girl hasn't forgotten anything, we can leave right now."

Fate was about to retort when she remembered something, cursed, and ran up the stairs again.

When she returned, Precia teased, "What did you forget? Keys?"

Fate answered, "I refilled Arf's food and water bowls."

Nanoha asked, "She's not coming with us?"

Fate shook her head. "Father doesn't like Arf in his house. He thinks she's plotting a one-animal conspiracy against him to shed on every single piece of furniture possible."

"Oh..." Nanoha laughed and started walking towards the door when Fate placed a guiding hand on her shoulder. "Does he-"

"Nanoha, is that a guitar?"

Nanoha followed Fate's gaze and tapped the case affectionately. "Yeah. Do you mind if I play a little something at the party?"

Fate shook her head vigorously. "Do whatever you want."

"Within reason, of course," Precia added. Fate nodded as if that was what she had been implying.

The walk to their destination was filled with light chatter about Fate's Father and his adopted children with odd nicknames based on when they were adopted. Nanoha shared a little about her family, her family's bakery, and about herself, mainly through questions from Precia, who hadn't had as much time to chat with Nanoha.

"Well, this is it."

Nanoha stopped and stared. "I thought you said we were going to your father's house."

"We are. This is where Father lives."

Nanoha pointed at the big pearly gates and stammered, "T-That's not a house! That's a mansion!"

Fate pouted. "Same difference, isn't it?"

Nanoha huffed as Precia secured clearance for them, allowing them to walk up the long driveway to the front entrance. "About as much difference as Arf being a chihuahua."

Fate grinned and took Nanoha's hand, running down the path with her friend in tow. "Come on, don't sweat the small details!"

At the door, a purple-haired maid bowed as Fate arrived at her own party, although it was a small family gathering nonetheless. Well, it was about as small as anything else recently associated with Fate at least. Attending were, aside from Nanoha, Fate, and Precia, Fate's father who liked to pretend he was hip by having people call him JS (only to be called Mr. Spaghetti instead), his ten adopted children, the landlady who was the real owner of the house, and the landlady's child, Suzuka. Considering Suzuka had been classmates with Nanoha since grade school, it was a bit surprising that Nanoha had never met Fate before now, but Fate explained that she rarely went to this house and Father wasn't always there to visit either. Upon seeing 'the Numbers' again, however, Nanoha did recognize a few, although there were many new faces among them. Even still, she didn't feel as nervous as she had walked out of her house feeling.

Shortly after re-introductions had been made, dinner was served and that was a grand affair, with nearly every seat of the long table being filled. Nanoha commended the cooks for putting all this together so quickly, to which Suzuka leaned over and whispered to Nanoha that they had been cooking all day in preparation for this.

While everyone was relaxing in the living room afterwards, a chant started up for Fate's sake, sounding very much like, "Open gifts, open gifts, open..."

To which Fate looked at her father, who nodded approvingly.

It was then that one of the Numbers (Nanoha forgot which) suggested that they play a game where everyone put their gifts in the middle of the room and mixed it all up. Fate would then be blindfolded and be forced to crawl through the barrage of gifts. Whichever one she touched would be the one she opened. This plan was a bit flawed in nature, but as it gave the Numbers a chance to make Fate dizzy, they didn't really care about the details.

Nanoha looked down at the small giftbox she had brought and while everyone was running around like geckos with their tails cut off, she discreetly placed hers in the farthest corner possible from where Fate was spinning half-heartedly.

And then it started.

As Nanoha expected, Fate reached everyone else's gifts before hers, and she was content with that. On the thirteenth gift (As only fourteen people were there to give her gifts), Fate peeked around to see where the last one was and that was when she caught Nanoha watching her. Watching her with a knowing smirk.

But as Fate looked around, she couldn't see the last gift. She knew it had to be Nanoha's so... or had she tricked her? Tricked her into believing there was a gift when there wasn't?

"Nanoha... a hint?"

Nanoha chuckled. "Put the blindfold back on."

Reluctantly, Fate did so, moving towards where she thought Nanoha was, but stopped when she heard movement. When she stopped, they stopped. She moved forward again, and they moved as well. Fate tried to follow the rustling as best she could, but as she was crawling on all fours, it was difficult to discern anything from her own rustling. Eventually, however, her hands closed over something small, a box, and she stopped again.

As she was taking off the blindfold, she felt warm arms wrap around her, and she smiled when she looked into Nanoha's eyes.

And then Nanoha was gone, walking back to her seat. Fate noticed Nanoha saying a few words to Precia and Father before pulling out her guitar, but set her sights on opening the gift. Her heart beat a mile a minute thinking it might be something extreme like a promise ring or expensive earrings, as that was the type of box that it came in.

She was more than a little confused when she found a gleaming yellow triangle... a pendant? But it wasn't the type of material typical of pendants... She held it in her hand, the box falling amongst the haphazard mess of all the other gifts, and she looked up at Nanoha.

Except... Nanoha wasn't at her seat anymore.

The maid was just placing down a stool in the middle of the room, where a lone light shone down on whoever sat on it. Nanoha sat down, setting the guitar on her lap as she requested, "Fate, I'll show you what my gift is for. Could I borrow it for this song?"

Wordlessly, Fate walked over to Nanoha and placed the triangle in her hand. The slightest of tingles danced between their fingers at the contact, but neither said anything about it. At Nanoha's gesture, Fate sat down just a little in front of Nanoha, oblivious to the fact that everyone else had gathered 'round to listen as well.

After a few practice strums, using the triangular pendant as a pick, Nanoha cleared her throat and began to sing.

O-town: The Painter

_Hmmmmm..._

_If I were a painter, mixing my colors_

_How could I ever find, the red of your eyes?_

_The canvas can never, capture the light of your smile_

_Of your smile_

Fate smiled, remembering how much she had agonized over the same problem, regarding her painting of Nanoha. Nanoha smiled just then, only affirming to Fate that it was an inexplicably wondrous feeling, receiving that smile. She felt like she was looking upon an angel... except better because Nanoha was a living, breathing person right in front of her.

_And girl, if I were a sculptor, working in marble_

_I couldn't hope, to copy your perfect face_

_The curve of your body, the feel of your skin_

_My hands could never, ever trace_

Fate blushed, recalling the day before when her hands had traced Nanoha's body. Until that day, she had considered scrapping the painting and making a 3-D sculpture, but the realization that it was a futile effort stopped her. Cold, hard marble was nothing compared to holding Nanoha's warm body, and she was reminded of it again just now when Nanoha had hugged her. She felt the sudden urge to hug Nanoha again, but restrained herself.

_Chorus:_

_So I'll try and find a melody as beautiful as you_

_Find the words to say your eyes are redder than red_

_Fill my voice with the emotion I'm feeling for you_

_And now, when the beat is so strong_

_I'll give my heart in a song_

She could feel her heart beating faster within her chest as Nanoha's voice rang out, proud, clear, as perfect as the rest of her. Well, if one had cared to point out mistakes, Nanoha seemed to have difficulty hitting high notes simultaneously with her voice and the guitar, having to concentrate on either one or the other, but Fate didn't care. She knew what Nanoha was trying to convey, because it was the same thing her own work was attempting to show the world.

_Oh girl_

_If I were an actor, I could be someone_

_Someone who'd always know, the right things to say_

_But as soon as I'd see you, I'd forget all my lines_

_And you'll never know, what I feel inside_

Fate closed her eyes as she let the words and the memories they invoked spill over her. They had only known each other a short two weeks, but it had felt like so much longer. Their first hour together, Fate spoke to her as she might a close friend turned rival, and her mouth had said things her mind would never had had courage to let her say otherwise. She remembered being stunned by the suddenness of Nanoha's appearance in her life, the undeniable feeling of being a _godsend_ from her muse that had gone on vacation. When Nanoha started to respond in kind, her mouth had lost its bravado, leaving her confused mind and haphazardly happy heart to pick up the pieces.

_So I'll try and find a melody as beautiful as you_

_Find the words to say your eyes are redder than red_

_Fill my voice with the emotion I'm feeling for you_

_And now, when the beat is so strong_

_I'll give my heart in a song_

Fate opened her eyes slowly, returning Nanoha's steady gaze. Her gentle smile. An expression of pure adoration for the one she was looking at. Fate noticed that the music was slowing.

_There's no other way (no other way)_

_That I know to say (I know to say)_

_Baby, how much I love you_

_And if you'll only give me a chance_

Fate flushed, wondering if Nanoha really meant it. Her eyes said she did, but it was just a song, wasn't it? Not every word could be taken literally. Fate steeled herself for the off chance that Nanoha didn't love her the way she loved Nanoha. And all the while, her heart willingly melted at Nanoha's song.

_Oh girl,_

_(Chorus x2)_

_I'll do, I'll do what I do_

_You know why, know why?_

_Your eyes are bluer than blue_

_Uh huh, yeah,_

_I said I'll do what I do_

_I'll give my heart in a song_

_You know I'm not a painter, actor, baby_

_It dont matter_

_I'll give my heart in a song_

_Oh, you're so beautiful_

_Give you my heart in a song _

Nanoha strummed the last few notes, her voice becoming almost as soft as a whisper, "Oh, you're so beautiful... Give you... my heart in a song..." After a few seconds, she let the guitar fall silent, as she held the triangle pendant out to Fate. "I may not be as talented as you, Fate, but you have become my inspiration and have strengthened my resolve to improve myself. This pendant, Bardiche, represents the way you bring out... more beauty in myself than I may ever recognize... and... when I'm with you... it doesn't hurt to spread my wings and experience new things... new feelings... But in any case... Happy birthday, Fate. I... I hope you liked it. Because... because..."

Fate stood up then and put a finger over Nanoha's lips as the other hand closed over Bardiche. "Thank you, Nanoha. I loved it. And I'll treasure this forever."

"Fate..."

Whistles and cheers from their audience caused simultaneous blushes to sprout up on their cheeks, but neither really minded. The party continued, neither saying anything in particular about Nanoha's gift until Fate was walking Nanoha home afterwards.

"It's not yours?"

"The guitar? No, of course not." Nanoha laughed nervously. "I don't own a guitar. This is my dad's. I borrowed it for tonight. Ah, but Bardiche is yours now. So don't worry about that. Keep it."

Fate smiled wide as she realized what her birthday gift for Nanoha would be. "Do you like playing guitar? You never mentioned it before."

"Nyahaha..." Nanoha rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "I learned from my dad, but I stopped playing several years ago."

"Oh... why?" Fate hastily added, "If you don't mind me asking."

"It's all right." Nanoha stretched and placed her hands behind her back. "Dad got really busy with the store after that and... I don't know, I kind of just... lost interest. It's one of those things where you think, "if no one's listening, why am I playing", you know?"

Fate nodded sympathetically. "But you played really well tonight."

Nanoha laughed. "No I didn't. That was so-so. My dad can play it much much better."

"I still liked it." Hesitantly, Fate reached for Nanoha's hand, and was rewarded when Nanoha wrapped her fingers around Fate's. "I liked it... because _you _were singing it for me."

Nanoha trailed to a stop as they came close to the park where they had met. Turning to Fate, she said, "Fate... I have to tell you something."

Fate tilted her head to the side, silently prompting her to continue.

"I... I want... I like..." Nanoha closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath before trying again. "Fate, I really, honestly, truly... like you. I won't jinx myself and say 'love' just yet, but I think that might be a possibility, too. But... what I wanted to ask you was... do you think... we could be... more than friends?"

Fate smiled as she gently squeezed Nanoha's hand. "Nanoha... I 'really honestly truly like' you too. And I was just thinking... if we could be more than just girl and girl, artist and inspiration. And for tonight... as a thank you for tonight... I'd really like to... kiss you..."

Nanoha smiled as she broke her connection with Fate's hand and pulled her closer. "Why are you blushing over such a little thing? You've kissed me before, without asking even."

Fate protested, "That was just on the cheek! I mean..."

"I know." Nanoha leaned over, her lips just barely grazing Fate's, encouraging her to go further. Fate took the bait, closing the distance between them, her eyes drifting closed as her lips touched those soft lips she had tried for hours on end to replicate to the closest thing to perfect as she could.

It was an impossible feat.

But this, this right here, right now, with Nanoha in her arms, kissing Nanoha...

_This_ was art in it's purest form.

End


	4. Epilogue

A/N: I think I forgot to mention that there was an Omake Epilogue to Artist!Fate. But this is the last chapter, really. Enjoy!

Omake 4.1- BadCook!Nanoha + SweetGirlfriend!Fate

The two girls giggled as they walked cheek to cheek to the studio. "Precia-san won't mind?"

"She'll be with Father for a while yet." Fate unlocked the door and tugged Nanoha in with her. She kissed her gently before tugging her up the stairs to her room. "Your mother won't mind?"

"She's used to me sleeping over at friends' houses." Nanoha smiled as she looked around. "This is... cute. Your room."

"Really? I think it's beautiful. Know why?" Fate hugged her from behind, swaying their bodies together. "Because you're in it now."

Nanoha laughed and turned to Fate. "Before, you said you'd try my cookies if I made some with my own recipe... right?"

Fate was still smiling as she sat down with Nanoha on the bed. "Yeah... did you make some?"

Nanoha nodded and pulled a bag out of her larger purse/bag. Offering it, she said, "A second birthday gift."

"Awww... Thank you." Fate opened the bag and smiled at the pristine perfection that was the heart and star shaped cookies. Holding one up, she said, "I'll be eating then."

For a few holy moments, it was like a little piece of heaven in her mouth. And then she bit into it.

And all hell broke loose.

Fate ran from the room and opened a water bottle with lightning speed. She downed nearly half the bottle before coughing to get the crumbs back into the right pipe.

"It's no good, huh?" Nanoha leaned on the doorframe of Fate's room, looking utterly dejected. "I guess there's a reason we don't put chili in chocolate chip cookies..."

"Chili? That's what that was?" Fate looked at the half finished cookie in her hand. Walking over to Nanoha, she murmured, "Sorry, it's not that it's not... good... I'm just... umm... bad about handling hot stuff. It just... took me by surprise is all."

As if to prove her point, Fate put the rest of the cookie into her mouth. She then chewed painfully, ignoring the tears stinging her eyes. After swallowing, she said, "See? It's not bad at all. It's rather..."

"You don't have to lie to me. I know it's bad." Nanoha sighed and flopped down on the edge of the bed. "I have no sense of personal taste."

"That's not true at all. Come on, don't be so hard on yourself." Taking a deep breath, Fate ate another cookie, managing to devour it with only a slight wince. By the time the fourth cookie went down, her tongue had numbed and the level of heat radiating from her mouth had stabilized to an endurable state.

Nanoha watched in silence as Fate calmly finished the bag of cookies.

"Ah, you know what? Precia-san will want to try some when she gets home, so I'll save the last few for her." Fate sighed as she set down the cookies on the night table and finished the last of the water in that bottle. After licking her lips, she felt decidedly better and turned to Nanoha. "Thank you for the cookies, Nanoha."

Nanoha broke into tears and cried into Fate's chest, whispering apologies and words of regret. Fate held her, saying nothing one way or the other.

"If you get sick," Nanoha's eyes glistened with conviction as she looked up at Fate and promised, "I'll stay with you and nurse you back to health, I swear."

Fate smiled weakly. "All right. I hope it doesn't come to that, but all right."

Omake 4.2- BirthdayGirl!Nanoha

"Are you peeking? You're peeking aren't you? Mou, I want it to be a surprise!"

Nanoha giggled. "Just tell me what it is already, Fate-chan." A surprised look softened into a sweet smile as Fate removed her hands from Nanoha's eyes and instead kissed her gently. When Fate stepped back, Nanoha saw that they were in Fate's room. "Fate-chan, what...?"

"Happy Birthday, Nanoha."

Nanoha opened her mouth to retort that her birthday was yesterday and it had been celebrated by a nice gathering at her family's bakery, but Fate seemed to have something else planned. "Come to think of it, you said you had a really big surprise for me for my birthday but you didn't give me anything... or did you...?"

Fate laughed. "Yeah, sorry, I'm a little late. It couldn't be helped- my timing was bad. But I want to give it to you now, so pretend it's still your birthday, okay?"

Nanoha giggled, swinging Fate's hand back and forth. "Every day I get to spend with you feels like my birthday."

"You must be very old then."

Before Nanoha could retort, Fate retreated, walking over to her closet. At Fate's offhand request, Nanoha sat down on the edge of the bed and waited. While waiting for Fate to take out whatever surprise she had in store for her, Nanoha looked around the room. A few weeks ago, this room had been an absolute mess, but a little teasing went a long way, and by the time Nanoha had made her third visit to the room, it was as neat and orderly as a hotel room, except cozier.

"All right, here it is. Sorry for the delay."

Nanoha's eyes widened as she looked at the larger rectangular box that was almost as tall as Fate. Standing up, she walked over to the box and muttered, "You didn't get me a life-size android or something, did you?"

Fate snorted with restrained laughter. "As if I could afford something like that with what I make- even if those were for sale. No, it's just the only box I could find that would fit it. Go ahead, open it."

Nanoha looked again at the yellow wrapping paper covered box and the lacy pink ribbon. With a lopsided grin of amused resignation, Nanoha slowly pulled on the ribbon, undoing the bow. She then painstakingly unwrapped it in such a way that the paper would be preserved.

Fate grew antsy just watching her. "Mou, you take forever. Just rip it off all ready. It's not even very expensive wrapping paper."

Nanoha giggled. "But it's the first present Fate-chan has ever given me! I want to save the paper anyway."

Fate sighed and started pacing, her eyes darting towards Nanoha's calm ones every so often, watching her pull off the paper little by little. And then once it was off, painstakingly opening the box itself.

Nanoha stopped when she saw the case within the box. Saw the glimmer underneath the cushioning. "Fate... you didn't... you didn't /really/..."

Suddenly, Nanoha's pace increased dramatically and in ten seconds flat, the case was open on her lap and her breath had hitched as she ran her fingers over the instrument. It was a black guitar with gold trim. "Fate..."

"Do you... do you like it?"

Nanoha looked up at her, her face void of any emotion other than mind-blown surprise. "How...? Why...?" Gathering her wits about her, she formed a coherent question. "How much did you pay for this? It must have cost a fortune."

"Ah... The price isn't important. Nanoha? Do you like it?"

Nanoha nodded slowly. Her hand caressed the instrument again. "Why a guitar?"

It was then that Nanoha noticed that Fate was holding up her yellow pick, Bardiche. "Will you teach me how we can make music together?"

That was when it occurred to Nanoha what Fate had done. Each had a piece of a puzzle, each had something the other needed to make music. To make music that was beyond just the mediocre level.

Nanoha smiled. She took the instrument out of its case carefully, setting the case down on the floor. She then scooted away from the edge of the bed and tuned it by ear. Once she was ready, Nanoha held the guitar out to one side and patted the part of the bed that was showing between her legs. "Come sit here."

Curious, Fate obeyed, watching as Nanoha locked her into place by taking hold of the guitar with both hands. One hand went to Fate's and guided it to the guitar strings.

Fate shivered as Nanoha's breath grazed her ear, whispering instructions. "I'll start by teaching you which strings are which then."

"U-Unh..."

"Fate-chan?"

Fate looked over at Nanoha.

Nanoha smiled and kissed her. "Thank you. I'm sure we'll be making music together for a long time to come."

"Y-Yeah... Yes..." Fate smiled broadly, realizing what Nanoha meant. She would have hugged Nanoha if their positions allowed them to do that easily. Since she couldn't, she merely kissed Nanoha's nose. "Let's... Let's make music together."

"Only with you, Fate-chan." Nanoha settled her chin on Fate's shoulder. "Only with you."

Omake 4.3- Auction!Fate

The hall was ahustle and abustle with people from various backgrounds, all looking for new pieces to add to their collection.

"And now... the last piece of the night! We have here a beautiful piece from one of our younger artists, titled simply, "A Woman and Her Dog." The strokes are of top quality, perfect, precise, and yet with an essential flow that permeates the whole piece. The color choices, the contours of expression, none are worthy of complaint. So! Let's start the bidding at 25! Remember, all proceeds go to helping the church by request of the artist. Now do I have a bidder for 25? Ah, yes, the man in the black shirt. I have 25... do I have 30? 30! Yes! 35? 35, come on people, 35 anyone? Ah, the woman in the yellow dress-"

"What are you doing?" Fate hissed at Nanoha, making a grab for her hand. "Put your hand down!"

"But I want it too!" Nanoha grinned as the price went up again, and she bid once more.

"Nanoha... how much are you going to raise the price? What if you don't get outbid, you'll have to-"

"And that's 150, this is great folks, excellent. Do I hear a 155? Going once, going twice, ah, the woman in the yellow dress again. 155! Going once, go-"

Tired of the silent auction, Nanoha's contender for the piece shouted out, "250!"

"Oh, goodness gracious, we have a bid for 250! Can the woman in the yellow dress beat that? No? Then, going once, going twice..."

"300!"

"Fate!" Nanoha slapped Fate's arm. "What's the point if you buy it?"

Fate protested, "You got me all wound up! Now I want it too..."

"310!"

Fate's eyes widened. "He still wants it? Just who is this other person?"

"Probably someone who likes investing in young artists with potential."

"...Going twice..."

Fate sighed. "I suppose it wasn't meant to be. They can have it."

"You sure gave up fast."

Fate rolled her eyes. "Oh quiet, you."

"Sold! To the man in the black shirt for 310! Thank you very much, sir. Please go to the front desk to conduct the exchange. And that's a wrap folks! I hope you'll enjoy the other items we have at this auction, not just the art- although we have some wonderful selections this year..."

"Come on." Fate tugged Nanoha's arm as her eyes followed the man. "I want to meet this person that would bid for an item up from 25 to 310."

Nanoha giggled. "You're not going to say I helped? Well, you were the one that bid 300..."

Fate didn't respond as she waited for the man to pick up the covered portrait after writing a check for it. As he turned to walk away, he stopped face-to-face with Fate. Nervously, she bowed and introduced herself, "Ah, good evening. I was the artist for the piece you bought and I was just wondering who was the one who thought my work was worth so much?"

"A mere 310 is nothing for me. I'm always happy to help out the church. But you've got a good hand at art and I recognized it as such. Nothing more." He held out his hand. "The name's Graham. Yours, young lady?"

"Ah... Fate Testerossa, sir."

"Testerossa is it... well, Miss Testerossa, I'll be keeping an eye on you. Do you have your own studio?"

"Ah, no," Fate flushed but continued hurriedly, fishing through her purse for a business card, "But I work as an apprentice at one. Ah, the address is here."

"Ah... Precia-san is it... Yes, I can see her influence in your work, now that I think about it." Graham looked over at Nanoha. "And this was the model for your piece?"

Fate nodded as Nanoha bowed. "Ah... yes, sir, she is."

"Mm... Commendable. You two must be very close. I can see the chemistry between model and artist in the final works. Miss Testerossa, will you promise an old man something?"

"Ah... yes, sir?"

"Can I trust that you will always keep the feelings you had when you made this piece and never betray those feelings?"

Fate smiled with resolute confidence. "Without fail."

"Good answer." Graham chuckled. "Perhaps I shall visit you in the near future, Miss Testerossa. Well then, have a good evening."

"Ah, you as well, sir."

As Graham walked off, Fate watched him go for a good few minutes before her legs failed her. Nanoha worriedly held her, asking if she was all right, asking what was wrong...

Fate merely answered, "I talked to Graham. The Graham. He bought my work. He's interested in my future works. This is it, Nanoha." Fate turned appraising eyes on Nanoha. "And it was all because of you. Thank you, Nanoha. Thank you so much for walking into my life."

Nanoha smiled back with equal warmth.

"Well, I suppose you should thank Yuuno too then, for jumping down your shirt. I may have never stopped to get to know you otherwise."

They looked at each other in silence, before they both burst out laughing.

These were the good times.

Owari


End file.
